


bad ways to become better friends

by bestliars



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Bad Idea Sex, M/M, Minnesota Wild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-04-04 10:44:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4134525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bestliars/pseuds/bestliars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikko doesn’t understand his new teammate yet, but that might change tonight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	bad ways to become better friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anna_unfolding](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anna_unfolding/gifts), [oanja](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oanja/gifts).



> warning for… everything being a terrible idea????
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks to Stellarer for betaing/loving me despite this story/listening to me complain endlessly about Thomas Vanek.

This only could have happen on the road; they don’t hang out otherwise. They both already have friends in the cities. There are people Vanek has known since college, and Mikko’s built a whole life here. They aren’t friends. They only spend time together with the team. At home there’s better options. Lots of times there are better options on the road too, but not right now.

They lost in Ottawa, but now they’re moving on. They have a night in Montreal before playing the Habs. Mikko doesn’t mind Montreal; this city loved his brother. A visit here used to mean seeing family, now it just means a tough game. The Wild haven’t been good in Montreal historically. They spent a lot of years not being good anywhere, but it’s different now.

Vanek played here for a little while last year, traded just minutes before the deadline. It was his third team of the season. Mikko can’t imagine that. He’s only ever played for the Wild. He can’t really picture himself on another NHL team. But he knows Saku used to be the same way about the Habs, and look how that turned out. Still, Mikko doesn’t want to go anywhere. He wants to win in Minnesota, to bring the cup to the state of hockey. Vanek wants the same thing. They have that much in common, at least.

They end up going to dinner with a few teammates who are still hanging around. Ryan’s quietly suffering through life on the road without Zach. Ballard’s along, and Nik as well. Mikko isn’t sure who invited Vanek, but he isn’t complaining. It’s good for them as a team to spend time together. They’re just getting dinner around the block from their hotel, it will be fine. Interesting though. Pommer’s off visiting his family, and Mikko hasn’t spent much time around Vanek without someone who knows him better as a buffer.

Dinner is… awkward.

They haven’t been playing great. Mikko has a hard time enjoying himself when they’re losing.

Nik’s used to that, and Ryan’s pretty used to that, most people are. But it seems like Vanek isn’t yet. Mikko’s trying to have a nice conversation, but he can’t really be happy considering their power play. 

He doesn’t like how false Vanek seems. It must be false — how can he seem so happy, when he should be frustrated. Vanek will get so frustrated in the middle of a game, but then they get dinner and he seems fine. Mikko doesn’t think they should be constantly miserable, but just, there should be some acknowledgment. They aren’t just friends who happen to be in Montreal to get dinner and talk about American football. 

Mikko basically never wants to talk about American football, but he thinks Van and Ballard trying to make some argument for the Vikings' decency is absurd. Ryan’s smiling and shaking his head, Mikko’s just bored.

He’s going to cut his steak and frown and glower, until Nik nudges him in the elbow and says, “Be sociable,” in Finnish. 

Mikko can do that. He can be polite. He can talk to Van, he can pretend to care about American football. 

He can try anyway. He doesn’t have any real opinions to offer. He’s lived the states for nearly a decade, and he still doesn’t understand the game, mostly due to lack of trying. All he can manage is some terrible chirp about how of course the Vikings are terrible, they’re based off Swedes, which is mostly nonsensical, and rude to boot. He almost feels bad, but that’s the kind of trash they’re talking. It startles a laugh out of Van, who hasn’t been around long enough to know that Mikko _can_ tell jokes.

They get through dinner, and then there is the question: who wants to linger at the table with coffee? Ryan’s heading back to the hotel, he needs to call Zach. They’re too sweet. Ballard’s headed back too. He seems to be following Ryan’s example; he’ll go back and call his wife. 

Mikko thought Nik would stay. Nik likes to sit and talk over coffee. 

Mikko wouldn’t have decided to stay if he thought it would be just him and Van. But Nik waits until the others have gone, and then “suddenly remembers” he has something important to do at the hotel. He leaves, leaning into say “it will be good for the two of you to talk.” Mikko doesn’t believe this at all. Fucking devious goalies.

They’re left alone with their coffee and the silence, which might be awkward, but is preferable to trying to force conversation. There’s nothing wrong with sitting in silence when there’s nothing good to say. Mikko will be polite. He can do that. He has practice, interacting with fans and the press. 

Only apparently Van isn’t going to let him play it like this. “So, you don’t like me very much?”

Mikko’s taken aback — why would Van ask that? That’s rude. How is Mikko supposed to answer that.

It’s polite to pretend everything is fine. They’re teammates, and should be polite to each other.

Besides, Van is wrong. Mikko doesn’t dislike him. Or at least he doesn’t feel confident saying that’s what’s happening. He’s still unsure.

“I don’t know you very much,” he explains. He doesn’t particularly like what he’s seen too far, but he isn’t quick to judge. He knows he can seem standoffish to people he doesn’t know well, but that’s just how he is.

He opens up slowly. He was awkward around Pommer until the following fall. Zach made them fast friends through sheer force of will, dragging Ryan along. It’s different with younger players whom he feels responsible for, but he’s slow building relationships with his peers. And Van is supposed to be his linemate, they’re supposed to click, but they haven’t so far, not even close. Mikko doesn’t like the pressure. 

“Well then, I think it’s important that we get to know each other better!” Van says. “We have to start somewhere, if we ever want to be friends.”

Mikko thinks this is a terrible idea, but he can’t just say that; that wouldn’t be polite.

“I like steak and potatoes. I grew up looking up to Hermann Maier — he was an Olympic skier, an Austrian, do you remember?”

Mikko shakes his head. He doesn’t know what this conversation is.

“My favorite movie is _Old School._ My favorite band is… hmmm.” Van considers this seriously, like it’s an important subject and Mikko is going to care about the answer. It’s baffling. “I have to say U2,” He says. “They’re the biggest band in the world for a reason, right?”

Mikko shrugs. This is never something he’s thought about.

“U2 are brilliant,” Van says, sounding very confident. “Besides that: I moved to Canada when I was fourteen. I like playing hockey. I hate losing. Now tell me about yourself.”

How incredibly forward of him. Though he may have a point. They may benefit from understanding each other more.

Mikko tries to talk about himself, but it’s very stilted. He isn’t good at this, but he’ll try. 

“I like coffee and…cold weather?” He doesn’t like talking about himself.

He likes skating. He doesn’t like how their power play has been. He doesn’t like scrambled eggs. He’s frustrated by how their line hasn’t been scoring, even when they’ve been playing well.

That makes Vanek shake his head and say, “You really are all hockey all the time. I wonder what it takes you to unwind.” 

Mikko disagrees — there’s more to his life than hockey, but none of it is anything he’d especially want to share with Vanek. But that isn’t anything he wants to say. Instead he just shrugs. 

Vanek looks at him, smiling in a way that makes Mikko’s stomach curl, says “Maybe you loosen up in the bedroom. Or maybe you’re a control freak there too? You get so intense, someone could say that’s hot.”

Mikko doesn’t know what to do with this. Why is Vanek talking about his sex life? Is that flirting? Vanek should not be flirting with him.

Maybe Vanek is confused — Mikko doesn’t really approve of sleeping with teammates. (Ryan and Zach are an exception, they were more or less married by the time they joined the team.) Vanek should not be hitting on him. That is very unprofessional.

“I wonder how cold it will be when we get back to Minnesota?” He asks. 

Vanek hasn’t spent a winter in Minnesota in years. Mikko wonders if he’s prepared for it.

“It won’t be worse than Buffalo,” Vanek says, then smirks. This isn’t over. He won’t allow Mikko to steer the conversation to something else. Mikko can almost appreciate that — he knows he’s stubborn, and tries to respect that trait in other people, but mostly he finds it frustrating.

Vanek continues to speculate about what Mikko’s like in bed. He feels himself getting flustered, especially because Vanek isn’t too far off the mark. He does tend to be assertive about what he wants.

They finish their coffee in stilted silence. Mikko prefers this to the earlier subject of conversation. He likes to keep his personal life personal.

Vanek is a teammate, but not a friend. With everyday that seems less and less likely. Maybe one day that would have been possible, but Mikko doesn’t like the way Vanek asks questions. It makes him less interested in getting closer.

They can be teammates. They can be professional. Mikko sees no reason to push for anything more.

He doesn’t like Vanek very much at all. He is confused by how this doesn’t appear to be mutual. Vanek keeps on looking at him, and smirking. Mikko choses to ignore it in favor of staring into his coffee. 

That works, for a while, until the coffee is gone, the bill is settled, and it’s time to go.

The walk back to the hotel isn’t good. Mikko wishes he had some escape, that he had some reason to walk alone, that he knew another route back to the hotel. That doesn’t make sense. It’s perfectly fine to walk together, not talking. They’re teammates, linemates — Mikko can’t run away.

He doesn’t want to. He just… He isn’t sure.

They get to the hotel, and ride up in the elevator together. They get off on the same floor. They head in the same direction down the hall.

Mikko stops in front of his door, to take his key out of his pocket. Van stops too — Mikko doesn’t know why.

He opens his door, steps inside, and Van follows him in.

Maybe this is what will make their line work, Mikko hopes, as Van presses him back against the door. The latch to hold it partly closed is pressing against his shoulder uncomfortably. That's what they get for letting this happen in a hotel room. It wouldn't happen if they were in the Cities — they don't hang out in the Cities, where they know other people. They aren't friends, not yet — maybe this will change this. Maybe this will change something. 

They aren't friends, but they're teammates, and linemates. They're supposed to make each other better. Mikko's supposed to be setting Van up to score goals, but that isn't happening. Nothing's going in when they're on the ice together, and he can't always cover for Van's defensive lapses. Maybe this will help, it could make them better communicators, put them on the same page. It wasn't instantaneous, but they figured out how to kiss without clicking their teeth together. That's a start. 

Mikko doesn't dislike the feel of Thomas’s hands on his hips, he doesn't find Thomas unattractive. He knew they were headed towards something, but he didn't suspect it was bed. There are worse ways their issues could have come to a head. They're going to have to find a way to work together. This is year one of three, they'll just have to make it work. 

Thomas isn't going anywhere. The fans want him here — he's a former Gopher, the next best thing to a real Minnesotan. Mikko doesn't care at all, but he wishes he could ignore it even more completely. He just needs a distraction. Winning games is the best way to silence the criticism, and the best reminder to ignore the voices that never shut up. Sex with Thomas should be a fine distraction too. It will take his mind of things, for a little while. And who knows, maybe it will actually help them on the ice. Unlikely, but Mikko isn't giving up hope.

The kiss is… not unexpected, not really. But it isn’t the sort of kiss Mikko thought it would be. There’s nothing conquering, nothing harsh in the kiss. It isn’t gentle, but it’s friendly, friendlier than most of their interactions tonight, and that’s surprising. Thomas kisses like he’s trying to get to know Mikko, trying to figure him out, and Mikko has already mostly resigned that to being a lost cause. If Mikko thought they could be friends he wouldn’t have let himself get caught up in something as ill-advised as a kiss.

Mikko pushes him away, and Thomas, to his credit steps back immediately, hands up as an apology.

That isn’t what Mikko was looking for. He didn’t want to stop, he just needs it to be _different._ He pushes Thomas again, this time backing him against the wall. Thomas goes with it easily, with a hint of smile on his face that Mikko is almost too close to see. Thomas lets him get pinned, by Mikko’s hands and weight, bringing his own hands up to Mikko’s hips. Thomas widens his stance so Mikko’s leg goes between them. They’re standing so close together.

Now it’s Mikko’s turn to start the kiss, and it isn’t so gentle. Hard enough that it almost hurts, a strong kiss, like maybe this will leave an impression, maybe this will change Thomas, maybe this will make things work. Thomas kisses back, open and effortless, and Mikko resents that. This seems to come so easily to Thomas; he seems comfortable in this, while Mikko is nearly drowning in awkwardness as much as arousal. The only thing to do is keep going forward.

Mikko has his hands on Thomas’s chest, and Thomas has moved to put one hand on his ass. Mikko should mind that, but it’s actually quite nice. They’ve figured out enough about each other to make it a good kiss, and Mikko is starting to get hard from it.

There’s tension building between them, and Mikko isn’t sure what they want to do with it. Have sex, he supposes, though he isn’t sure if that’s the best idea. He doesn’t have a better one.

They are already this far, Mikko won’t be the one to back out now. There is already so much friction, and every moment of kissing has been like a promise. They’re going to go through with this. The transformation is already underway.

The bed is right there, only three steps away, but it feels much further. Taking this to a bed means acknowledging what they are doing, accepting it and accomodating it fully. Mikko is not sure that’s anything he’s interested in. If it happens like this, pressed against the wall, right inside the door, then it’s easy to pretend that it was a split second decision, made in the heat of the moment, and mostly outside of his control. Moving to the bed would mean taking responsibility for their actions.

Mikko isn’t sure he wants to be responsible for this.

This is not a responsible decision.

He doesn’t sleep with teammates — he isn’t. What a terrible euphemism, _sleep with._ It’s so important to have the language to make mistakes seem more innocent.

He doesn’t fool around with teammates. Doesn’t have sex with them. Doesn’t fuck.

They aren’t actually going to fuck against the wall. They’re just going to fool around.

He pulls away just far enough to undo Thomas’s belt, and is rewarded with Thomas’s fumbling hands on his own fly, brushing over his hard on. He bites back the urge to press into it, to rut forward without any clear thoughts.

Thomas hisses when Mikko strokes his dick, dry with only bit of precome, not particularly gentle. Mikko strokes Thomas’s dick one more time, then brings his hand up to Thomas’s mouth. Thomas is full of surprises, sucking two of Mikko’s fingers into his mouth, hollowing his cheeks around them. 

Mikko isn't sure if he actually thinks this is hot, or if he's just supposed to think it is. It's faintly ridiculous. Yet somehow it still works, it's still a turn on. 

But not quite what they need. Mikko draws his fingers away, and holds his palm out instead. Thomas raises an eyebrow, and then spits.

Mikko puts his hand back on Thomas’s cock, and starts jerking him off roughly. Thomas’s fingers dig into his ass. Mikko keeps going, appreciating the choked off noises Thomas makes. Thomas gets louder just before he comes. Mikko strokes him though it, doesn't stop until Thomas pushes his hand away.

Mikko takes a half step back, beginning to re-establish boundaries and personal space. Thomas leans back against the wall, breathing heavily. Thomas can catch his breath, fix his pants, and then go back to his own room. They can pretend this never happened.

“Come here,” Thomas says.

Mikko steps close again. Thomas reaches up, pulls him close, and kisses him, bites his lip. He moves his hands to settle low on Mikko’s hips, pulls him in. Mikko had been working to ignore how hard he is, but he can’t, not with Thomas’s thigh against his dick. He doesn’t want to moan, but can’t help himself.

Thomas fumbles getting Mikko’s pants open, but he manages, gets his hand on Mikko’s cock, starts touching him. It feels better than Mikko would have expected. Thomas is determined, like it’s a competition, like he needs to prove that he can do this.

Mikko doesn’t doubt him. He doesn’t try to prove Thomas wrong. He wants this, or at least he’s come to terms with it happening, and he isn’t going to try to hold back. He wants to feel good. He’ll let Thomas take him apart, and find pleasure in the experience.

When he comes he bites down on the flesh where Thomas’s neck meets his shoulder, over the shirt, hard enough that it should bruise.

In the immediate aftermath he thinks of nothing, which is very nice. For a moment the world is blank, before reality reasserts itself.

It’s time for them to gather themselves together now. Mikko moves to put the proper amount of space between them.

He straightens his pants, never mind how it’s his room, or how much time they have spent together in various states of undress before tonight. He needs to put his dick away, and hope it prompts Thomas to do the same. He won’t stand to be vulnerable any longer than necessary.

He waits impatiently for Vanek to do the same. Mikko has no interest in drawing this out. He moves to the door, trying to get rid of Vanek without outright asking him to leave. Mikko is at least going to continue to pretend to be polite. That isn’t something he can give up on now.

Thomas dawdles. Mikko just wants to be alone. Still, he doesn’t say anything, just waits by the door while Vanek gets his pants in order. At last he heads for the door. Mikko is thrilled.

One Thomas is gone he’s going to shower, go to bed, and pretend this never happened. He imagines the rest of Vanek’s night is something similar. There’s no need to drag this out.

Vanek nods, and Mikko nods back, and now it’s time for everything to be over.

Instead of just leaving Vanek leans in and says “I had a good time,” and kisses Mikko on the cheek.

Then he’s out the door, gone, thank god.

Mikko thought he knew what just happened, but he doesn’t, not really

Vanek is just impossible.

Mikko doesn’t get it. He isn’t sure he wants to understand, but he feels like it’s his responsibility. He doesn’t know what happens after this. Vanek is baffling.


End file.
